Filed under: ART, CULTURE, PHOTOGRAPHY, STREET | Tags: concert, philadelphia, photo, third eye blind, xfinity live
Philadelphia is the best sports city hands down! Too have every stadium in walking distance from each other…and only a 15 minute subway ride from the city incredible. Now Philadelphia has added Xfinity Live directly in the middle of the stadiums. A hand full of crazy bars, gigantic screens and more than enough food makes going to the game worth it even if you don’t have a ticket. Check out the details at the link below…its impressive, loud and chaotic….all qualities I love.
The grand opening was set off by a free concert by Third Eye Blind. I didn’t know about this show til a few hours before it started. I phoned a few friends and found some willing to head down…it was worth it. I danced to some classics and was able to see one of my favorite bands. How can you not like Third Eye Blind.
I was also able to snap a few photos.
After the show I was decently drunk and headed to Chickies and Petes and stuffed my face with mussels, crab legs, wings cheese fries and few more beers. That was my idea of heaven.
Til next time….
Filed under: ART, PHOTOGRAPHY | Tags: crazy, drunk, holiday, nyc, photo, santa, santacon
LOCATION: New York City
Once again thousands of santas, reindeer, elves, mrs claus’s, snowman, trees….um the kid from the christmas story…I think I saw a gargoyle….hmmm….gumby and pokey….candy canes….and any other christmas related costume you can think of took to the streets of New York City.
The day started with Santa’s meeting at several starting points all across the NY Area. From their everyone was directed through twitter on when and where to move too. The two landmark areas this year were Bethesda Fountain in Central Park and Christopher & W4th st in Greenwich Village. The time between the time to meet at these locations were filled with the usual bar hopping and running through the streets to spread the christmas spirit.
This year seemed to not have as many landmark locations, which was disappointing, but was still crazy. There are rumors about a possible Santacon taking place in July, but this is only hinted at on their twitter account.
Its not officially the holiday season til victoria secret has their fashion show…and Santas run rampant in the streets of New York City! Til next year Santacon, thanks for the great times!
Filed under: ARCHITECTURE, ART, GRAFITTI, PHOTOGRAPHY, STREET ART, URBAN EXPLORATION, URBEX | Tags: art, california, damian fulton, gallery, photo, san diego, surfindian, surfing
On December 4th Surfindian held their Christmas party with the opening reception for Damian Fulton….Damian Fulton’s beautifully vivid work gave a disturbing look into the not so serene side of surfing.
Damian Fulton grew up in the suburbs of the OC and had to travel 10 miles on a his Schwinn Stingray to even see surf. Damian’s travels through the urban landscape was far from the paradise one may think of when the surfing lifestyle comes to mind. His work depicts the struggles of battling the urban landscape, pollution, the fight against conformity, the fight for originality and the fight for freedom to enjoy a simple connection with nature through surfing.
These battles of Damian’s life to enjoy the freedom of surfing are clearly evident in a piece titled “Persecution”. The piece shows a female surfer running from objects in suits, expensive cars, police, pollution and computer chords. As the objects in chase are depicted in an almost a monotone shade of blue the woman is in vivid color, separating her from the conformity of everything trying to bring her down. The piece is shown below along with another piece titled “Revenge”.
Damian was also in attendance at the opening performing some live art in the form of a mural. Through out the show he continued to paint a portrait of a female indian on the exterior of the building. A rendition of the mural has also been made into a special edition t-shirt for sale at Surfindian.
Damian Fulton’s work was so incredibly complex, bright and intense that it can be enjoyed on so many levels. One can easily enjoy his work on the surrounding environments within his work. Although, I kept finding myself surprised to see a hidden piece made from everything taking place within his work. I noticed this most when I was reviewing my photos from the night, specifically his designs on a surfboard.
As a small photograph one can easily tell that it’s an image of Frankenstein composed of other images. While viewing this in person I was absorbed in each creature and object drawn onto the board that I lost the big picture. I was pleasantly surprised to come home and enjoy Damian’s work all over again through discovering something new.
Viewing Damian’s work was intense and I enjoyed becoming immersed in each of his pieces on display. I most likely spent over an hour going from each piece and closely examining all of his work. Every piece seems to come to life and portray a story , and I enjoyed discovering each story Damain Fulton had to tell. The link below will take you to Damian Fultons personal website.
The party then continued outside the gallery. Surfindian had several hotrods on display including a beautiful Blown 29’ Roadster designed by Luis Loyola.
There was also music and custom made jewelry by Kustom Kulture Kouture on display in Surfindians shop located two doors down.
http://www.kustomkulturekouture.com
http://www.skinnydogdesign.com
The entire event was catered by Dirty Birdz which is located between Surfindians gallery and shop.
The entire event was too much fun and was put on perfectly by Surfindian. If you live in the San Diego area I suggest you stop by Surfindian to see Damian Fultons work. At least make sure to get to their next opening, this was my second and its only getting better.
Exhibition Dates: December 4th – February 5th
Til next time…thanks for reading!
Filed under: ARCHITECTURE, ART, GRAFITTI, PHOTOGRAPHY, STREET ART, URBAN EXPLORATION, URBEX | Tags: art, brooklyn, city, DOLK, grafitti, Lorimer, Marci Park, nyc, photo, street art, urban, Williamsburg
LOCATION: Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
A new piece was just recently installed on Metropolitan & Union. The piece was done by DOLK. Its located next to Marci Park and is definitely worth a trip to Brooklyn to see in person.
DOLK currently has a show with M CITY at the Brooklynite Gallery in Bed Stuy. More info about the show can be found here (http://www.brooklynitegallery.com/).
More posts to come soon….
Filed under: ARCHITECTURE, ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, URBAN EXPLORATION | Tags: art, brooklyn, explore, industrial, loft, manhattan, nyc, photo, photography, river, rooftop, skyline, sun, sunset, sunset park, urban, warehouse
LOCATION – Sunset Park Brooklyn,NY
Aaron and I met while working at an outdoor advertising agency, we were both photographers. Are main amount of work was focused on taking proof of performance shots of all of our media. We had to shoot everything that we owned that was currently running advertisement. This included sides of busses, phone kiosks, ads on Long Island Rail Road, ads on Metro North Rail Road and banners. We also had to occasionally shoot billboards in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
Whenever we made the trip to shoot the billboards in Brooklyn we would always pass by a set of warehouse buildings that were made into artist lofts. This huge buildings stood next to each other and were all practically identical and could not be missed. At the top of each building stood water towers which seems to be the defining characteristics of the all of them. We always thought about trying to visit the buildings but never did until recently.
We hopped on the train and after a short time we were in Sunset Park Brooklyn. We walked to the lofts wondering how we would be able to get to the rooftops. We acted as normal as possible and scoped out the area to look for possible entrances. Shortly it dawned on us that practically every door was unlocked and it was just a matter of which we would like to choose.
We walked to the first building…walked to the first door…entered the building…used the elevator…and walked directly on too the roof.
In a way I wish it would have been more difficult. I wish there would have been window we had to work our way in too, or maybe a fence that had to be climbed. It seems as of late that to enter these buildings all it takes is walk through the front and exit in the back. I don’t think I should complain as just feel blessed that all I have to worry about is my photography.
Back to the story….
We begin to settle down from the astonishment of how easy it was to get to the rooftop. We each separate and begin to look for what photos we each want to take. Aaron does he same routine of setting up the tripod and scoping out a perfect shot. While I on the other hand run wild and shoot everything from the hip completely hand held.
Our main point of interest on these rooftops were the defining water towers. They seemed to show a progress of decay with the closest being almost complete while the farthest almost completely torn down. In a way it was a more depressing sprint advertisement (please correct me if I got the brand wrong).
Here a few photos…
After we got done with our interest in the water towers we noticed how amazing the views was….here are a few photos…
After shooting we took a second to just enjoy the view and take a look around Sunset Park from the roof. As we were looking we found another roof off in the distance that looked interesting. It was only a few blocks from where we were so we packed our gear and left towards our new destination.
As we got closer to the building the area got sketchier. The streets became dirtier. The smell in the air become more thick and pungent. We were entering a shipping yard and I never did figure out what I was smelling. It was the end of the day and there were very few people around, but the people that were there noticed that we did not fit in. We pushed on as if we belonged there and arrived at the building we were interested in.
Aaron approached a door….turned the knob….opened the door….and we were in.
BOTTOM LINE! The building was creepy! The air was cold and wet. The hallways were dimly lit and dirty.
This building was not abandoned and was an active shipping warehouse. The work day was done so nobody was there when we entered. I was still afraid of encountering someone that would not want either of us there. We both proceeded with caution and made our way through the building.
Aaron and I looked up the stairwell and noticed that there were probably about 10 floors to the roof. We looked for an elevator and did not see one. We shrugged our shoulders and made our way to the top. Huffing and puffing…we finally arrived at the exit to the roof. Unlike the last building this door was not wide open inviting us to the roof. The door was shut and what looked like an alarm was constantly beeping acting as warning to us not to enter. We packed our bags in anticipation to charge down the steps incase an alarm was set, we looked at each other and I extended my arm and pushed the door open. There was no alarm. Or at least no alarm that we could hear. There was a symbol that lit up which showed that the door was open. We took our chances and entered the rooftop.
Here are a few photos of what we found…
We both climbed to the top of a water tower and decided to spend the rest of the day there. The water tower had a perfect view of the river and Manhattan. We took more photos and waited til sunset to get some night shots. The view was incredible and watching the sun slowly hide behind the river and turn the day into night made the entire trip worth every second.
Til next time….thanks for reading!
Filed under: ARCHITECTURE, ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, URBAN EXPLORATION | Tags: abandoned, art, brooklyn, grain terminal, industrial, new york, photo, photographer, photography, red hook, urban exploration
LOCATION: Red Hook – Brooklyn, NY
A brief history…
The grain terminal was once used for washing, drying and storing grain. The grain was then shipped and used at breweries along the east river. The building has been mainly abandoned for the past four decades and is slowly falling into the river. There are possible plans to turn the building into a concrete production facility.
Personal history…
This was my first true infiltration of an abandoned building. I was completely unaware of this factory until recently. The outside of the building was almost completely sealed. It was difficult to find an easy entrance. In order to get into the building I had to boulder along the water to enter through a decaying wall. I made sure to explore every floor of the building until I was at the top. While exploring the top floor I found and open window and was all of a sudden on the roof. I could see for miles in each direction. The weather was beautiful and so were the views. I did not enjoy the high gusts of wind and the cracking sound beneath my feet. I took one more look in every direction and left the roof. The entire exploration was fun until I decided to leave the building. With all the excitement of a new place to explore I forgot to realize that the river rises at night. As I left for the entrance to head home I saw that all my secure rocks were now covered with 3 feet of water. I slowly panicked and began banging on any sealed window hoping one would budge. With the sun almost set and after about 15 minutes of trying every window one finally came undone and I was free.
MISSION STATUS – SUCCESS
THANKS FOR READING!
Filed under: ARCHITECTURE, ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, URBAN EXPLORATION | Tags: abandoned, exploration, explore, factory, hudson, metro north, new york, nyc, photo, photography, power, rail, river, ruins, station, urban, yonkers
A brief history…
The Yonkers Power Station of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad was constructed between 1904 and 1906. It was built as part of the electrification of the rail lines spurred in part by dangerous conditions caused by steam engines and related smoke, and also by the need for a completely new and larger Grand Central Terminal. The brick power house and two smokestacks stand as a solitary beacon to Hudson Valley Ruins as one heads north from New York City. To call this building a ruin, is really a bit unfair however. For it is still structurally sound enough to accommodate some adaptive reuse proposal.
However, current residential development proposals threaten the architectural integrity of the power station. The power stations remains unprotected as local-landmark legislation has been pending since an application was filed in the spring of 2005. In January 2008, the Preservation League of New York State named the Yonkers Power Station as one of its Seven to Save Most Endangered properties in New York State.
Personal history….
I have assisted on two commercial photo shoots at this abandoned factory. Unfortunately because I was being paid I was not allowed to explore the entire building. When we recently went back to Glenwood I made sure to not leave any inch unturned. The entire building has this ominious presence. Some sections are spooky, damp and dusty. While other sections are grand, majestic and beautifully lit. Towards the end of the mission we found our way to the roof. It was a bright sunny day so you were able to see far along the hudson river. The wind was strong that day so I made sure to not spend to much time on the roof.
MISSION STATUS – SUCCESS
Filed under: URBAN EXPLORATION | Tags: brooklyn, city, exploration, explore, industrial, new york, photo, photography, soho, urban
Hey! Welcome!
A brief summary…..
My friend and I are both photographers and enjoy photographing interesting places. We both enjoy exploring abandoned ruins and searching for unique architecture within New York, wether it be within the city or further out to LI and upstate. Together we search out interesting places, we infiltrate places were not always suppose to be and we document our entire trip.
A brief bio…
I am a 26yr old male currently living in Brooklyn, NY. I was born in Winchester, VA. I was raised in Berks County PA. I am photographer mainly working with outdoor advertising agencies. I also assist occasionally on commercial shoots.
I have always been intrigued by what may be around the corner. On occasion I may find myself bored and just start walking/skating/running in a certain direction and push myself to see what is around a turn or over a hill. That is probably why I enjoy urban exploration. As I find myself walking through ruins of modern day buildings I catch myself envisioning the place as it once was. I see the rooms alive with people moving through the hall ways. I see boxes being loaded in shipping yards and workers sweating to make a living. Along with the past I see what is in front of me and take it as a challenge to see how high I can climb or how far I will go to explore whatever mission I am on.
Partner in crime….
I usually have a partner with me on my trips. He is a 29yr old male currently living in Soho in NYC.
Unfortunately he got the brilliant idea that it will be amazing to move to Greece. So he will be leaving us shortly. Hopefully he can contribute by adding posts from Greece and make this blog international.
What are MISSIONS….
Missions are any piece of architecture wether abandoned or active we try to infiltrate and document. See MISSION 1 – GLENWOOD POWER PLANT (coming soon) for an example.
Please feel free to comment and hopefully even contribute. We are only two people and can only cover so much ground.
Thanks for reading!
URBAN SETTING 